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Tag: Origin

  • Battlefield 4 Open Beta Is Now Available For Preloading

    The holiday shopping season is a time to shine for the video game industry, especially 2013. Because of the overwhelming hubbub generated by such things as releases as GTA V and the impending launch of the Xbox One and the PS4, it’s important to stand out as much as possible, even if you have a well known commodity. Generating any kind of news or buzz for your upcoming product only helps, especially when discussing the act of anticipation building. Getting people excited about something that’s about to come out is obviously extremely beneficial, and of course, social media plays a huge role in the process.

    That’s why the following tweet by Origin concerning preloading files for the Battlefield 4 beta test is considered a newsworthy item for those that follow the video game industry:


    In the grand scheme of things, preloading a few hundred megabytes worth of information is no big thing. However, add the keywords “Battlefield 4” and “open beta test” to it, and you have the ingredients to generate consumer excitement. Giving people an extended preview of a popular title is a good way to stoke their interest, and adding to this anticipation with terms like “preloading” is the Pavlovian thing to do. The details about the beta are available at official BF4 website, and it indicates those who have pre-ordered the game will be allowed to play around in the beta starting tomorrow, October 1.

    On October 4, the Battlefield 4 beta will be open to whoever would like to take part. The game launches on October 29 for the PS3, Xbox 360, and the PC. It will also re-launch when the next-gen consoles hit the stores.

    [Lead image courtesy of EA]

  • EA Wants To Grow Origin Beyond A Transaction Interface

    Too many PC gamers, Origin, EA’s digital storefront for PC game purchases, is a necessary evil, especially if you are one of those who wants to play Battlefield 3. That is, if gamers didn’t have to have Origin, they probably wouldn’t. It’s safe to say the same cannot be said of Valve’s Steam service, which is, perhaps, one of the most beloved services to come from the digital age. Reddit is a good place to gauge responses for each service, and while Origin has some defenders, it also has many who support the following sentiment:

    “Reddit, what the fuck don’t you get about “don’t buy shit from Origin?” I haven’t seen one goddamned positive story about this service at all. Avoiding it would be common sense at this point.”

    And then there are stories like this one.

    All things considered, can EA make Origin something other than a transaction service, one that many gamers only use because they have to? Whether they will succeed or not, the folks at EA understand how improving the reputation of Origin would only help. While speaking to GI International, EA Sports Executive Vice President Andrew Wilson shared his ideas and thoughts about Origin:

    “I had the great fortune of being on Origin back in the day; I was part of the first core team that had this kernel of an idea of what Origin could be,” Wilson recalled. “It wasn’t called Origin then – the subsequent team came in and branded it and built that service. But what we really had in mind in the early days was a service that made your EA games better; a service that made it easy to access games and update games. A service that enhanced the experience of playing games, a service that helped you connect to other friends playing games, and a service that ultimately did that across all platforms, not just PC…

    Wilson wants the service to grow beyond being a necessary transaction service for gamers. In other words, he wants gamers to want to install Origin instead of fulfilling a requirement in order to access the upcoming Battlefield 4, for instance. While Wilson didn’t offer specifics, his goals for the perception of Origin are clear:

    “When I speak to the team now, they’re very energized about this concept of ‘Listen, the transaction is really a very small part of the experience; that’s really not what this is about,’” he said. Wilson notes that you have to have some software to download and install PC games, and that Origin has made that better. “In the old EA, there were multiple downloaders and multiple installers,” Wilson pointed out. “Before you bought every game, you had to get a new downloader and a new installer. That was a barrier. Origin is one downloader, one installer. That solves a problem for the gamers who buy more than one game.” Origin also makes the process of getting patches easier. “Again, we’re not perfect, but we’re getting better,” Wilson said…

    “What you’re going to see from us is to have a real focus on that, and a focus on getting that right and getting that better, and getting it done for PC. Then figuring out in the context of other platforms, what does that mean?”

    Unfortunately, one of the main reasons people have Origin–because it is required to gain access to many EA titles–is the main reason gamers are against it. That being said, if EA moves away from the “Origin is required to play this game” demand, and allows future content to once again be available on services like Steam, there’s a very real likelihood an Origin exodus would begin. With that in mind, how do you improve a service’s reputation when such a rock and hard place scenario exists?

  • Ubisoft, EA Cross-Pollenate Uplay, Origin With Each Others’ Games

    Electronic Arts (EA) and Ubisoft today announced that a few of their published titles will grace each others’ online storefront.

    Ubisoft titles, such as Assassin’s Creed III and Far Cry 3, can now be purchased through EA’s Origin store, with more titles such as Splinter Cell Conviction on the way. Likewise, EA games such as Dead Space 3, FIFA Soccer 13, The Sims 3, and Mass Effect 3 will soon be found in Ubisoft’s Uplay store.

    “Making our biggest franchises like Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry available on Origin is a great way of exposing even more PC gamers to these great titles and giving them another choice in where and how they buy their games,” said Chris Early, VP of Digital Publishing at Ubisoft. “Also, by adding excellent titles from EA to the Uplay shop, we’re taking another important step in making Uplay the most rewarding set of services available to our customers.”

    This is undoubtedly a nice get for both EA and Ubisoft, which will see the quality and number of titles in their stores rise as a result of the deal. Both companies publish multiple AAA games each year that are generally well-reviewed.

    It does raise the question, though, or what exactly these publishers hope Origin and Uplay will become. Since PC DRM for each publisher’s game is tied to their store, gamers will have to have Uplay to play a copy of Far Cry 3 downloaded from the Origin store, or would have to have Origin to play a copy of Dead Space 3 purchased from Uplay. Why bother purchasing either publisher’s titles from the other’s store?

    It’s understandable that EA and Ubisoft want to emulate the success of Steam, but that platform has slowly built success using sales and a burgeoning indie game selection – all on the back of trust Valve has earned through the years. EA does not have the same customer-focused track record, and Ubisoft only just ended its failed experiment with always-on DRM.

  • New SimCity Trailer Includes Superheroes, Villains

    New SimCity Trailer Includes Superheroes, Villains

    Last month, EA and Maxis showed off the “European City Sets” that come with the $80 Digital Deluxe Edtion of the upcoming SimCity. That add-on comes with famous European landmarks (the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, and Brandenburg Gate) that transform the surrounding landscape, including buildings, police vehicles, and public transportation.

    Today, EA and Maxis are showing off the other, sillier add-on that comes with a pre-order of SimCity.

    The “Heroes and Villains” set will allow players to have organized crime groups in their cities and provide the ability to upgrade police squads into superheroes. A “criminal mastermind” can be placed in a city using the “Dr. Vu’s Evil Lair” object, which will provide plenty of high-tech development for the city until autonomous flying battle tanks begin to destroy it.

    The “Heroes and Villains” add-on is included in pre-orders for the Limited Edition (read: normal) digital and physical version of the game. For those who don’t pre-order a copy of SimCity, EA will almost certainly be selling the add-on in the in-game SimCity store.

  • Origin For Mac Officially Released

    Love it or hate it, if you want to play Dead Space 3, Crysis 3, or SimCity on a PC or Mac, you are going to have to download EA’s Origin platform.

    It’s been only one month since EA released the “Alpha” version of its Origin platform for the Mac, and today EA officially released the client for Macs. We’ll have to assume that means the weeks-long alpha and beta tests went well, or that no one downloaded the alpha and the publisher decided it was good enough for the few people who would actually use it. Either way, Mac gamers can now download EA games such as The Sims 3, Dragon Age II, and, um, The Sims 3 expansion packs. There are other games available, of course, but nothing that isn’t already available through the Mac App Store.

    “Our vision with Origin is to connect your gaming universe online, and today we’re taking a major step in expanding our service to reach Mac-based gamers worldwide,” said Michael Blank, VP of production for Origin at EA. “In delivering great game content, connecting the Origin service across PC, Mac and iOS devices, and offering great value to gamers with dual-platform play on select EA titles, Origin is making it easier than ever before for gamers to connect and play anytime, anywhere.”

    So, maybe Mac gamers won’t get to download Crysis 3, but they shouldn’t worry too much. SimCity will (probably) be released on Origin for Mac in the near future.

  • New SimCity Trailer Shows Off European Landmarks

    EA and Maxis today released the latest trailer for SimCity, featuring the “European City Sets” that come with the Digital Deluxe Edition of the game. Famous landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, and Brandenburg Gate can be placed in cities to attract tourists. The landmarks will change a city’s buildings, styling them to look French, German, or English, as well as changing police and bus services to the various country’s styles.

    The Digital Deluxe Edition of SimCity is the more expensive $80 version of the game. That version also comes with the “Heroes and Villains Pack,” which includes a “Super Hero HQ” and “Evil Villain Lair.” The Digital Deluxe Edition of the game is only available through EA’s Origin platform. That shouldn’t be too much of an additional inconvenience for gamers, however, as anyone who wants to play SimCity will need an always-on internet connection through Origin anyway.

    A “Digital Deluxe Upgrade Pack” is also available for $20 that includes the European City Sets. That, in essence, makes the content day-one DLC.

  • Origin For Mac Alpha Client Released

    EA today announced that the Origin client for Mac is coming along, and an alpha test of the software has begun. Gamers with a Mac can download the alpha today, though it will be available to only “a few thousand users” in North American and the U.K. Though it’s kind of odd, the Origin for Mac alpha can be found for download through Origin website, and is found on the site’s demos section.

    The alpha client does not yet have access to EA’s store, and the Twitch.tv live-streaming is also disabled. Instead, EA is encouraging Mac gamers to add non-Origin titles to the service and use the Origin overlay in-game.

    Of course, a broken client doesn’t sound appealing, so EA is giving away copies of PopCap’s Bookworm with every alpha download. EA promises that the complete version of Origin for Mac will have all of the features of the PC client, including auto-patching, cloud saves, and a friends list.

    Though criticized poor customer service and aggressive DRM, Origin has many of the same features of other PC gaming stores. The thing that sets Origin apart is that it is the only place EA games can be downloaded for the PC. Ubisoft’s new Uplay client is similar, and though the publisher does make Uplay necessary for its newer PC titles, it doesn’t restrict the sale of its PC games to its own storefront. Ubisoft titles can still be found through Steam and GOG.

  • SimCity Beta Starts January 25, Registration is Live

    Maxis, the developer of The Sims and SimCity today announced that a beta for the upcoming SimCity will take place starting January 25. The beta will run during that weekend, closing on January 28.

    The beta will give fans of the SimCity a chance to play “a one hour slice” of the game. Maxis will, of course, be monitoring the beta, looking for bugs to squash as well as collecting player feedback on the game and its design.

    Registration for the beta is currently open over at the SimCity website. Registration closes on January 20, so fans would be well advised not to put it off. Though some gamers have reported technical issues when trying to sign up for the beta, Maxis has stated it is aware of the issues and is working to fix them.

    The registration for the beta takes place through EA’s Origin platform. SimCity will represent a preview of EA‘s digital rights management ideas for the PC. For those who haven’t heard SimCity will have a single-player mode, though it will still require an (almost) always-on internet connection to play.

  • Ubisoft’s Uplay Becomes a Digital Distribution Platform

    Gamescom 2012 has already featured some big announcements, some revealing more than at this year’s E3. Perhaps the biggest announcement of the show, though, has not been directly about a video game.

    Today Ubisoft announced that its Uplay digital rights management (DRM) system has become yet another publisher-specific digital distribution platform for the PC. Uplay has now replaced the individual Uplay game launchers that are required to play modern Ubisoft games. The software will consolidate players’ Uplay-enabled games in and will, of course, feature an online shop, a friends list, a chat system, and achievements.

    Electronic Arts (EA) released its digital distribution platform, Origin, just over one year ago with many of the same features. All of those features, however, were modeled after the current most popular and widely used digital distribution platform for the PC, Valve’s Steam.

    To get PC gamers to download the new Uplay platform, Ubisoft is practically giving away free games. Starting today and ending on Sunday, Uplay is selling a specific game for $1 (1€ in Europe). The games, in order of the day they will be on sale, are: Hawx 2, From Dust, Silent Hunter 5, and Driver: San Francisco. Several other Ubisoft games, such as the Assassin’s Creed franchise, will be on sale for 75% off for a limited time.

    “Uplay PC is a great way for customers to discover Ubisoft’s games, connect with their friends and gaming communities, and win achievements and content that’s not available anywhere else.” said Stephanie Perotti, worldwide director for online games at Ubisoft. “For PC gamers that are already fans of Ubisoft’s titles or have been considering trying some of our classics, this promotion is a great deal, and our way of saying thank you for their support.”

    When Electronic Arts launched its Origin distribution platform, it soon after stopped offering its games for download over any other PC digital distribution system. Whether Ubisoft will follow a similar path is not yet known, but already gamers are becoming afraid of being required to have many different distribution platforms and stores to play the games they love. Assassin’s Creed III is still listed in the Steam store, but is not available for pre-order and has an outdated release date listed for the title.

    Check out Ubisoft’s trailer for the new Uplay to see how the service will look:

  • Mass Effect 3 Leviathan DLC Release Date Announced

    This week Bioware announced an official release date for its first single-player downloadable content (DLC) for Mass Effect 3 (as long as you don’t count day-1 DLC or the Extended Cut fiasco). Mass Effect 3 Leviathan will be released on August 28th for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. For Playstation 3 owners in Europe, though, the content will be a day late and arrive on August 29th.

    Bioware earlier this month released details about what players can expect from the Leviathan DLC. From the Bioware blog:

    Something lurks in the dark corners of space, something powerful enough to kill a Reaper. Shepard must discover the most closely guarded secret in the galaxy before the Reapers silence it forever. Discover more about the origins of the Reapers as you race across the galaxy to find the Leviathan. Unravel the dark history of the Reaper Race before it is too late. Coming later this summer there is no war, only the harvest.

    Later in that blog post Bioware states that the Leviathan is actually a “mysterious being,” though they don’t hint at what its power might be. In terms of where the new DLC fits into the Mass Effect cannon, Bioware said that Leviathan is set during the events of Mass Effect 3, so don’t expect the Leviathan’s power to be galaxy-altering.

    The Leviathan DLC will cost $10 if purchased for the PC or via the PlayStation Network, or 800 Microsoft Points if purchased through Xbox LIVE.

    The DLC will also unlock new star systems and Citadel areas for players to explore, new characters to speak with, and two new weapons: the AT-12 Raider Shotgun and the M-55 Argus Assault Rifle. If players want even more new weapons, they can now purchase the Firefight Pack DLC weapon pack, which was released last week. The weapon pack is for single-player only and costs $2 for the PC and Playstation Network, or 160 Microsoft Points through Xbox LIVE.

  • EA President Says EA Gaming is Going 100% Digital

    Gamers have known for years now that the transition to all-digital gaming is coming. For PC gaming, that transition has already largely taken place, with services such as Valve’s Steam, OnLive, and EA’s Origin. However seeing the future coming and hearing an executive at one of the largest video game publishers in the world confirm it are two different things.

    This week Frank Gibeau, president of EA Labels, said in an interview with Games Industry International that EA is “going to be a 100% digital company, period.” Gibeau is in charge of EA’s product management and marketing for EA Sports, EA Games, Maxis, and Bioware. If anyone in the industry knows the direction gaming is headed it, it’s him.

    Of course, all-digital gaming will also allow EA to have more control over how gamers play their games. EA was named “worst company in America” by The Consumerist this past year for on-disc or day-one downloadable content (DLC) for its titles and for banning users from accessing their Origin-bought games. An all-digital gaming industry will mean publishers having complete control and oversight of gamers’ gaming habits, and will probably mean an end to the second-hand game market.

    The real turning point for gaming going completely digital is when consoles do away with their disc drives in favor of digital downloads of games. Gibeau stated that the digital shift is “in the near future,” so perhaps he is hinting that the next generation of consoles will not have disc drives. There have already been rumors that the next-generation Xbox console will do away with discs. However, with Sony motivated to keep the Blu-Ray format alive, and Microsoft wanting its Xbox brand to be the center of customers’ living room entertainment experience, it seems likely that at least the next generation of consoles will have Blu-Ray disc drives.

  • EA Exec Offers to Help Minecraft Commercial Success

    In an interview with Gamasutra, Rich Hilleman, Chief Creative Director of Electronic Arts, says Notch and Mojang need help managing Minecraft and wants to put the game on Origin, EA’s platform for purchasing and downloading games.

    Hilleman acknowledges that Notch probably doesn’t care about a third-party’s opinion on his business model, but he gives it freely anyway: “So I don’t know if Notch cares — in fact, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t. What I’ve told the guys who run Origin for us is that we should do it for free, because as you can see my vision of that business, that’s not where the money comes from anyway.”

    He thinks Minecraft could benefit from a more structured and commercial product when it come to mods, “As somebody who has had to reinstall Windows on my son’s computer after he attempted to install Mod Manager on that machine, there’s a lot of value to be provided for the customer in making Minecraft and its mods and installations something that’s a more commercial and predictable product.”

    “And those are the kinds of things that Notch needs help with, and that without the help of a publisher or other support, he’s probably not going to get there completely by himself. Now maybe his community will, and I’d love to see that happen. It’s a great experiment; I’m really anxious to see what happens.”

    Though Hilleman’s advice seem a little grandfatherly to someone who has already made a big impact on the business, his heart is in the right place. “The reason I wish we were involved is because I think we’d learn from him. And the other thing that’s true is Notch is a true talent of this business; I just like us being associated with great talent.”

    Despite Hilleman’s suggestions, Minecraft isn’t likely to get a mod manager anytime soon. Creator of Minecraft, Markus Alexej Persson, known as “notch”, says he doesn’t need help on this front. He shot back with this comment on Twitter.

    @notch
    Markus Persson    I’m sure EA is very successful at monetizing games, but the more we don’t do what they would do, the happier I am. #nooffense 2 days ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    There are some vocal gamers out there who think Origin is the one that needs help. What do you think?

    @KamikazeSharkey
    Evan Sharkey    @EA I love how much origin sucks. cant log in, requested a pw change 3 times and nothing… gj 6 days ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @minusworlds
    Brandon Dickerson    cool, I was stoked about the new Sim City until finding out it requires Origin to run. I’m not installing that EA garbage. 1 hour ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @vyseofhr
    Vyse    Ahh, you can always trust EA. Simcity 5 requires Origin and an always-on internet connection? Stuff your DRM up your arse, toerags. 8 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @HilariousCow
    Aubrey Hesselgren    To the people who work at EA following despite my Origin irritation… it’s cool. We know you think it’s dinosaur thinking, too. 2 hours ago via TweetDeck ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

  • EA’s Origin Is Now Offering SEGA Games

    EA’s Origin Is Now Offering SEGA Games

    Electronic Arts (EA) Inc. announced yesterday that it has added SEGA to its list of publishing partners offering their games on Origin, EA’s direct-to-consumer online store. And now Total War Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai is available for pre-order to on Origin.

    Top SEGA games, including Fall of the Samurai, will soon be available for direct-download from Origin.

    Also joining Origin’s list of publishers is Team 17 Software Limited, Rebellion, and Kalypso Media Digital Ltd., among others. Origin now offers products from 35 different game publishers and developers. New titles from these recent partners will be made available on Origin in the coming months.

    SEGA is enthusiastic about the new partnership. “We’re delighted to be partnering with Origin, commented John Clark, SEGA’s Managing and PC Digital Distribution Director in the UK, “The PC Market is continuing to grow and the prospect of offering the Total War franchise and the SEGA range of PC titles to the Origin audience is very exciting.”

    Origin currently offers a number of the PC gaming industry’s most popular titles, including Mass Effect 3, Battlefield 3, Star Wars: The Old Republic, FIFA 12, Batman: Arkham City, Saints Row: The Third and Rift.

  • EA Sucks at DRM Enforcement

    Digital distribution is the wave of the future (present?) when it comes to content delivery, and I’m not sure an industry has embraced this method of content delivery as much as the video game industry has. Well, not counting the music industry. Oh, and the book industry too. Hell, let’s just say the video game industry is successfully following in the footsteps of other entertainment industries and has in relation to delivering content without the need for a physical copy.

    At least in regards to the PC gaming environment.

    The success story of Steam’s online service is the industry standard, but there are others like Direct2Drive and Impulse. Electronic Arts, famously known as the makers of the Madden NFL Football series of video games, has also jumped on the digital distribution service with Origin, which offers EA-published games available for immediate download. The concept is a brilliant one as long as you aren’t one of the people who requires a jewel case with some cover art to legitimize your purchase.

    There is, however, one issue in regards to using EA’s Origin service: consumers are at the mercy of EA’s DRM, which can apparently be applied whenever EA sees fit. Take the plight of an Origin member by the name of MaximumTacos. While the silliness of the name may be hard to overlook, the shafting he received from EA concerning access to games he’s already purchased is not.

    The story of MaximumTacos’ EA issues hit the web yesterday, and after popular threads on Reddit and The Escapist’s forums, everything began to take shape. What we have is another user going to the EA forums and posting a profane message that made mention of the MaximumTacos user name.

    Mind you, the post was not made by MaximumTacos, it just mentioned the user name during the profanity-filled rant, and because MaximumTacos had the audacity to allow his name to appear in a TOS-violating forum thread, he, and not the user who authored the post, got banned. Not banned as in banned from the forum, but banned from accessing the EA games he had purchased via digital distribution methods.

    Or, as EA’s online customer support put it:

    Angad: Please note that your account [[email protected]] has been permanently terminated from the Electronic Arts Online service for violating the terms of services. The account will no longer be accessible in any way, and all property, items, and characters associated currently are or will soon be deleted.

    This bears repeating: Electronic Arts banned the account of a user in such a way, they no longer have access to games they’ve already bought and paid for, all because someone else mentioned their user name during a profane rant.

    Does that even make sense? Apparently to EA, it does, because they aren’t backing down even in the face of being so completely and utterly wrong with their punishment. As for the offending post in question, EA even referenced it when they informed MaximumTacos about the suspension, which turned into an outright ban:

    Chat log: soldier shapes / camo to watch for, and the people camping in corners with it./quote so its no longer INFARED = IR YOU NOOB B—- C— maximumtacos

    As you can see, MaximumTacos was the target of the profanity, not the author, but yet, he’s the one who gets banned? Does that make sense? Furthermore, does cussing on an EA-owned forum warrant an outright bannishment from EA, one that prevents access to content that’s already been bought and paid for? Here’s an image of what MaximumTacos was greeted with when he tried to access his copy of Battlefield: Bad Company 2:

    Account Banned

    Not only does EA’s punishment seem to completely overstep the severity of the crime, they aren’t even punishing the right person. This is, apparently, DRM at its best and most powerful, something Boing Boing’s post points out:

    For years, DRM advocates scoffed at the idea that it would be used for bullshit like this — the refrain was always that it was about preventing piracy. But managing rights is what DRM was built to do, so that is what it’s used for.

    What’s next from EA? Banning a reviewer who didn’t like their 2013 version of Madden? Or, perhaps banning someone who tweets about their dissatisfaction with an EA product? To cover his plight, MaximumTacos is starting a blog to document his dealings with EA, but at this point, I’d seriously consider legal representation, because not only is EA’s punishment entirely too severe — complete banishment from products for swearing at an EA forum? Isn’t that like 10 steps beyond what’s appropriate? — but it wasn’t even enforced against the right person.

    It’s in the game, apparently.